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7/04/10 -- The American Flag is a complicated and painful symbol to African-Americans. Some of our people say that it’s naïve or insulting to display or Stars and Stripes considering the long history of racial oppression – much of it government-sponsored – which our people have endured throughout our nation’s history. But I have two reasons for hoisting Old Glory and, as we gather to celebrate Independence Day, I’d like to share those reasons with you.
1) THE AMERICAN FLAG BELONGS TO “US” – Racists perpetuate the lie that white men are solely responsible for the greatness of the United States. (In doing so, these white supremacist fools seek to deny American status to so-called “minorities.”) But this country has always been racially and ethnically diverse and the countless contributions of people of color have made America what it is, has been and what it will be. Our blood, our sweat, our tears, our intellect, our ingenuity, our creativity and our spirituality have been integral to the American social, cultural, political and economic fabric since the nation’s colonial infancy.
The United States belongs to all of us. We built it. We paid for it. We died for it. It is ours. The Americanism of black folks and other people of color is an irrefutable fact.
2) THE AMERICAN FLAG REPRESENTS THE AMERICAN CONCEPT – The Stars and Stripes symbolize the high ideals laid out in the Declaration of Independence U.S. Constitution, the two noble documents which gave us the philosophical and legal ammunition to wage our fight for freedom here in the so-called “Land of the Free.” The righteous battles for civil rights were fought through marches, sit-ins-, boycotts and all manner of protests. But, ultimately, our victories over legalized segregation and discrimination were won in the federal courts where heroes like NAACP lawyer Thurgood Marshall who used Constitutional arguments to force this nation to overturn one racist law after another.
How tragic and shameful it is that so many Americans have been marginalized and brutalized because other Americans – blinded by bigotry, arrogance and fear – have refused to embrace the ideals of “liberty and justice for all.” Yet, our nation has come a mighty long way and today we enjoy freedom and opportunities which our forebears could scarcely have imagined.
America is a concept which demands freedom and equality for all Americans. That’s an idea worth celebrating and that is why I’m proud to fly the flag on the Fourth of July.
Thanks for listening. I’m Cameron Turner and that’s my two cents.
Contact Cameron Turner directly at turnerstwocents@yahoo.com
1) THE AMERICAN FLAG BELONGS TO “US” – Racists perpetuate the lie that white men are solely responsible for the greatness of the United States. (In doing so, these white supremacist fools seek to deny American status to so-called “minorities.”) But this country has always been racially and ethnically diverse and the countless contributions of people of color have made America what it is, has been and what it will be. Our blood, our sweat, our tears, our intellect, our ingenuity, our creativity and our spirituality have been integral to the American social, cultural, political and economic fabric since the nation’s colonial infancy.
The United States belongs to all of us. We built it. We paid for it. We died for it. It is ours. The Americanism of black folks and other people of color is an irrefutable fact.
2) THE AMERICAN FLAG REPRESENTS THE AMERICAN CONCEPT – The Stars and Stripes symbolize the high ideals laid out in the Declaration of Independence U.S. Constitution, the two noble documents which gave us the philosophical and legal ammunition to wage our fight for freedom here in the so-called “Land of the Free.” The righteous battles for civil rights were fought through marches, sit-ins-, boycotts and all manner of protests. But, ultimately, our victories over legalized segregation and discrimination were won in the federal courts where heroes like NAACP lawyer Thurgood Marshall who used Constitutional arguments to force this nation to overturn one racist law after another.
How tragic and shameful it is that so many Americans have been marginalized and brutalized because other Americans – blinded by bigotry, arrogance and fear – have refused to embrace the ideals of “liberty and justice for all.” Yet, our nation has come a mighty long way and today we enjoy freedom and opportunities which our forebears could scarcely have imagined.
America is a concept which demands freedom and equality for all Americans. That’s an idea worth celebrating and that is why I’m proud to fly the flag on the Fourth of July.
Thanks for listening. I’m Cameron Turner and that’s my two cents.
Contact Cameron Turner directly at turnerstwocents@yahoo.com
